Blood on Satan's Claw (1971 film)

Scene from Blood on Satan's Claw (1971 film)...

Blood on Satan's Claw, AKA Satan's Cult, Satan's Skin, The Devil's Skin, The Devil's Touch (1971)

Summary

"A living nightmare of black magic... and unspeakable evil!" Horror thriller set in 17th century England about the children of a village slowly converting into a coven of devil worshipers.

Details

• Release Date: 1971
• Country/Language: UK, English
• Genres/Technical: Horror (Folk Horror), Thriller
• Runtime: 1 hr 37 min
• Starring: Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews
• Director: Piers Haggard
• Writer: Robert Wynne-Simmons (screenplay), Piers Haggard (additional material)
• Producer/Production Co: Tigon British Film Productions, Chilton Films
• View Trailer: (link)
• IMDb Page: (link)

Ratings

MPAA Ratings

• Rated: R (Violence, Sexual Content, and violent sexual content)

The film was rated X in the UK for a violent rape scene, said to be so repulsive that even the director wishes he's filmed it differently.

Tentacle Ratings

A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:

• S____ (One Tentacle: Debateably Lovecraftian; has almost no direct connection to Lovecraft's work)

This didn't seem like an especially "Lovecraftian" film, but according to the NY Times, "Although The Blood on Satan's Claw is based on an original screenplay by Robert Wynne-Simmons, it has a good deal of the quality of an H.P. Lovecraft work, in the vulnerability of even its heroic characters, as well as in its pastoral landscape that contains the threat of "eeveel" within every sun-dappled glade. Most particularly, it contains Lovecraft's perfectly straightfaced acceptance of a universe whose natural order may, at any time, be overturned by supernatural disorder."

Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.

Reviews

Review Links:

• Video review by Joe Dante at Trailers from Hell (link)
• Review by Graeme Clark at The Spinning Image (7/10 Stars)(link) - "If you don't mind that the plot fizzles out after all the better handled mayhem, then there's much to admire here, and Blood On Satan's Claw remains one of the most memorable, if unfairly obscure, examples of its genre...."
• Review by Dave Sindelar at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings (link) - "...There's a point where the deliberate and moody buildup needs to be set aside so that the movie can kick into high gear for a big finish, and it fails to do so; the ending falls flat badly. It's a shame, as a strong ending would have made this one a classic rather than a misfire. Still, it is an interesting misfire, and it’s worth catching for the first two-thirds of the movie...."
• Review by Richard Scheib at The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (2/5 Stars) (link) - "...[Director Piers] Haggard creates some nice scenes with claws creeping up through floorboards and Linda Hayden trying to tempt the local vicar. With something like a script to hold it together, Blood on Satan's Claw could have been impressive. ..."
• Review by Andy Webb at The Movie Scene (3/5 Stars) (link) - "...A movie which has a very specific appeal and in many ways a movie for those who were hooked on period horror during the 70...."
• Review by Chris Wood at British Horror Films (link) - "...A nasty film. A very, very nasty film, with rape, child abduction, limb-lopping, DIY surgery, insanity and murder piled higher and higher until it's hard for the viewer to take much more.... There's something deeply worrying about the whole story, as children are forced to mutilate themselves to provide skin for their 'master' Behemoth and think nothing of including murder and rape in their previously harmless games...."

Synopsis

 Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)

When a mysterious corpse is accidentally dug up by a boy in a small town, a group of local teens starts acting very strangely. The adolescents, led by a girl named Angel, are convinced the corpse was once possessed. Hoping to get in touch with the devil through the body, the teens act out a series of demonic rituals that causes a stir among the townspeople. When word of the satanic activity spreads, certain parents start trying to lock up the kids behind the spooky stunts.

Notes

Associated Mythos Elements

• TO DO